A manipulator, and especially an industrial robot, is a freely programmable, program actuated handling device. Such a manipulator may comprise a plurality of movable, mutually linked members or axes that define a kinematic chain.
To be able to use a manipulator, the latter must normally be set in operation and programmed. During the start-up phase, the requirements for subsequent programming of a manipulator program are produced. Thus, inter alia, during a start-up, for instance a manipulator is adjusted, an end effector or tool (such as, for instance, a gripper) of the manipulator is parameterized, one or a plurality of laser scanners for a mobile platform are calibrated, working or blocked areas of a manipulator are defined, robot-guided or stationary cameras are parameterized, or coordinate systems, such as, for instance, a base coordinate system, are even defined.
During the creation of a manipulator program, various instructions for using devices and/or objects may be produced and arranged in a desired sequence. For instance, it is possible to define that a manipulator is moved in a certain manner between a start point and a target point, a mobile platform is to move along a certain track, an end effector is to execute a desired action, or images are to be recorded using a camera, etc.
The start-up or programming of a manipulator is frequently performed on-site using a portable operating control device. For structuring the tasks to be executed and/or actuatable objects of the manipulator, the operator interface of the operating control device generally has a tree or menu structure. This structure may be designed in different ways, and may be organized, for example, oriented by function or object or device. However, the use of such a tree structure is generally confusing, because normally a large number of devices, objects, and/or tasks must be reflected or provided. A search for the correct menu item for a specific task that the user wants to execute is therefore often tedious: the user or operator must laboriously navigate the tree structure until he finds an appropriate element.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method with which it is possible to select a manipulator control task simply and intuitively. It is in particular an object of the present invention to provide a method with which a manipulator or robot may be actuated directly without great complexity. It is furthermore an object of the present invention to provide an operating control device and a manipulator system with which a manipulator may be actuated, wherein at least some of the aforesaid disadvantages may be eliminated.
The subject-matter of the main claim and of the coordinate claims attain these and other objects that will become apparent when reading the following description.